A lawsuit filed by New York state against Barclays PLC was the latest hit to the image of dark-pool trading, providing yet another prod to increase trading venues' transparency while also potentially opening up dark-pool operators to broader legal action from governmental agencies.

Pension funds and other institutional shareholders pursuing securities class-action lawsuits got a big vote of confidence from the Supreme Court in late June that could lead to more scrutiny of corporate and market practices, and more financial recovery, some experts say.

More proxy access proposals have won a majority level of shareholder support this year than in any other year, leading one asset owner executive to conjecture a tipping point has been reached in terms of investors and management embracing the concept.

Money managers and asset owners are wrestling with how to help employees manage their investments to provide adequate retirement income in a defined-contribution-dominated world, said speakers at Pensions & Investments' Investment Innovation & the Global Future of Retirement conference, held in New York June 22-24.

In the central conversation on the topic, “Global Plan Governance,” Jonathan Boersma, executive director, global investment performance standards and head of professional standards at the CFA Institute, said a recent World Bank education session on trustee ethical conduct posed tricky questions about gifts. One was a live goat.

John C. “Jack” Bogle is firmly against mandates when it comes to everything, from setting a single retirement age to requiring that employers set up retirement savings plans to creating a retirement income adequacy target.

Financial literacy needs to be a staple of the American education system, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said at Pensions & Investments' Investment Innovation and the Global Future of Retirement conference.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Fifth Third Bancorp et al. vs. Dudenhoeffer et al. removed the presumption of prudence standard often used by defined contribution plans to defend their use of employer-stock against fiduciary-breach lawsuits when the company stock sank.

Barrick (Gold Corp. was created and grew) without any government support. Yes, the government is behind us. Barrick never received a dollar subsidy, but Barrick did contribute $8 billion in pure direct taxes paid in its existence. Barrick also ... is employing today 25,000 people.